Heroine
by Leirxa
Summary: Being back in Hollow Bastion is a joy for her...but as old memories come back of a life interrupted and an old friend becomes something more, can Yuffie truly adjust? [LeonxYuffiexMyde.]
1. Love Can Break In

**A/N**: Welcome to my latest fanfiction! It indeed could be considered a Songfic, as it will be loosely following stanzas of one of my absolute favorite songs. Though, it will follow the song much less than Songfics I have written in the past. That being said, the song is eleven stanzas, so this fic shall be eleven chapters. Also, this could probably be considered AU, as the ages are probably way off where they should be (in flashbacks).

Oh, and in this story Myde is pronounced My-dee, not Mide.

**Warning:** There is a likeliness that some of my characters may slip into OOC status -receives glare from Leon-. I'm sorry, you're a difficult character to keep perfect! And I invite all readers to point out my mistakes in review-format.

And, I expect there shall be some unashamed fluff here and there.

**Summary: **Being back in Hollow Bastion is a joy for her...but as old memories come back of a life interrupted and an old friend becomes something more, can Yuffie truly adjust?

**Characters Who Shall Be Seen: **Yuffie, Leon, Myde, Aerith, Cid, Sora..._Demyx_...?

**Pairings: **LeonxYuffie, MydexYuffie.

**Disclaimer: **I own...umm...yeah, pretty much nothing but the ideas. Sure, Myde wasn't really created by Squeenix, but Demyx was and that gives them claims on any anagram of D-E-M-Y. Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, and anything similar belongs to Square Enix. KH also belongs to Disney. This wonderful song whose lyrics I shall be using is called "Punk Rock Princess", and was written and performed by Something Corporate.

**o--------------------o**

_Maybe when the room is empty,_

_Maybe when the bottle's full._

_Maybe when the door gets broke down,_

_Love can break in._

"Damn Leon for sleeping in, on today of all days!" Yuffie muttered to herself, sitting on the crumbling steps of what was once the Marketplace.

Sure, one could argue that it was _only_ the crack of dawn. And on this, their first full day back in the outskirts of Hollow Bastion (after having stayed in that dreadful castle for several months) every member of the Yuffie-proclaimed "Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee" deserved to rest up before tackling the ruins that they had found the town to be in. Yuffie had not slept at all, but tossed and turned all night in the uncomfortable camp bed that had been set up for her in the corner of the single house that had been fixed quickly with Merlin's magic.

She pulled her knees against her chest, the stair that she sat on being only slightly higher than the ground on which she rested her feet. Sitting around like this did not suit her one bit...she needed to do something, _anything_. So she hummed a tune and tapped her feet to a song that had been stuck in her head as soon as she had exited the house a few minutes earlier.

But it was not long before the catchy song had left her mind as rapidly as it had entered, and she was left wondering exactly where she had heard it before.

Townspeople were beginning to show up in the Marketplace, probably wanting to get a head start on reopening the businesses that they had left behind five years ago. It figured that that these people were more motivated than Leon himself, who was supposedly the head of the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee. Hmph. Yuffie shook her head at the thought.

_Who made Squall the leader of everything? _Sure, he may be older than I am, and so protective of everyone. _He's not that great though... _He's always been there for me...plus he is so strong, an obvious leader. Not to mention one of the most notably attractive guys in the entire- _WAIT! Did I just think that about Squally!? _

"He's like an older brother to me!" she exclaimed out loud, clapping a hand over her mouth. Luckily, though, so many more people were arriving that no one noticed Yuffie talking to herself.

But the truth was, Yuffie had been thinking things like this for the past half-year or so, during which time it became clear that she, indeed, did not see Leon as an older brother figure at all. But a gorgeous...rugged, reliable...Well, still, everytime she thought such things she tried to deny having any feelings for him, because she knew for absolute certain that Leon thought of her as a younger sister figure who needed watching over.

He sure did that making-sure-she-was-okay thing alot. And that is why Yuffie cleared her mind, and gazed instead at the others around.

It was nice, reassuring almost, to see all of these familiar faces that had survived the Heartless invasion return. And as the Marketplace was slowly crowded, Yuffie watched as old friends met up, young children (perhaps some who did not even remember their homeland as it once was) laughed and played in the debris-ridden pathways, and shopkeepers removed the wooden boards that had been used to abruptly close shop windows all those years ago.

And she smiled, how could she not? She was _home_.

Yuffie began to boredly twirl her large shuriken, which appeared at the first thought of it as it always did, right next to her. It was her loyal weapon. (Every Great Wutai Ninja needs one!) A few more minutes ticked by, and she began to toss it expertly into the air above her head, where it would spin for a few seconds and then return to her readied hand. It became a mindless habit as she got desperately upset over the fact that Leon, Aerith, and Cid were still asleep.

However, about ten times of throwing it and catching it later, it did not_ come back down_.

"Wha-?" she looked up into the sky confusedly, to find it being held above her by none other than..."Oh hi, Squall!" She lept to her feet so fast that she tripped over a stray cement piece and almost fell down again. Leon caught her wrist and let go the instant she regained her balance.

"Leon," he responded habitually. "And you should be careful, you might put an eye out with this thing." He whirled her shuriken around his hand a couple times, a bit slower than she could manage.

"Hey, give it back!" Yuffie pouted, crossing her arms and sticking her tongue out briefly.

"Why don't you just take it?" He held it high above his head, extended his arm up as far as it could go.

"Hmph!" Yuffie jumped up the couple of stairs that separated her from the man, and then sprung upwards, reaching out for her weapon. She came about five inches too low. "Aw. No fair!" she squealed, trying again and nearly knocking Leon over with the effort, but he stood still.

"You are just _very_ short...like, what, five feet?" he questioned, amusement clear in his eyes.

"Five-two!" she retorted, leaping up and down hopelessly.

"Well, that just changes _everything_." He rolled his eyes, and handed her the shuriken, which she immediately grabbed and held against herself, glaring.

But it was all playful, and they both knew it. Even though Leon appeared serious and emotionless, not smiling even once, Yuffie had come to understand his way of doing things. This was his way of interacting with her. She would always end up jokingly irritated, but laughing. He loved to make her laugh, which fortunately was never hard to do. In a way, he lived through this girl who was almost always by his side.

"So, why are you up so late, Squ- _Leon_?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. I've been up awhile now, Aerith and Cid are too. We're going to clear out the Borough so that Merlin can repair some more houses. A lot of these people are living out of tents," he said, and looked around at the crowded area. "They wanted to get started right away, but I figured you would want to be involved, so I came looking for you. Of course, if you'd rather not-"

"No, of course I want to!" she interjected. All of this precious time...wasted. She turned and took a few steps towards the Borough.

Leon stood for a moment and watched her excitement. _Okay, don't miss your chance. You've been planning to check up on her for awhile now...why should this be so hard? _And in the last moment before Yuffie left he called out, "Wait, Yuffie. There was something I wanted to talk about." _There._

"Oh?" She turned a little unenthusiastically and tilted her head. There was only one thing that would make Leon this awkward: talking about emotions.

"I really just wanted to check on you. Are you okay? I mean, being back and all." He drifted.

Yuffie gave an unexpected laugh and one of her brightest smiles. "Yep! I'm fine! Was that all?"

"Umm...yeah," he scratched his head. "I guess we should go then."

They walked together towards the Borough, perhaps a little slower than Yuffie would have appreciated. As they did, Leon glanced sideways at the girl.

"I was just thinking, you're so happy all the time. I don't get it. How can anyone be so happy?" It was a rhetorical question, but the moment he said it he realized he had said something wrong.

Yuffie stopped in her tracks. "What do you mean by that?" she interrogated, eyes glared, but not playfully this time.

_Uh oh. _"I just find it a bit odd sometimes, that's all. What is there to be so happy about?"

"Well, we can't all be cold and desolate jerks like you! Surely us humans are supposed to show what they're feeling...not keep themselves all bottled up."

He knew he was in too deep now to turn back, but each harsh word from his friend was painful. "But that's just it, Yuffie. I don't think you are showing what you're feeling at all. I think all of this outward joyfulness is just a mask that you wear to hide behind when you're actually hurting."

"And since when did Leon, the man who _changed his name to escape the past_, become an expert on masks? Last time I checked, you were the one hiding, not me." Yuffie was greatly bothered, no one had ever confronted her like this before...and facing the truth terrified her. Nothing was supposed to affect the Great Ninja Yuffie this way!

He placed a hand on her shoulder, and leaned to stare directly into her violet eyes. "You're right about me...but I don't want you to suffer like I do. I'm here for you, and I just want to pro-"

"...protect me, yeah, I got it." She pulled away from his hand, almost breaking his hardened heart as she did. "But I don't want you to anymore. I wish you would understand, I'm capable of taking care of myself, Squall." With that final thought she turned from him and sprinted down the steps to the Borough.

If seeing Yuffie happy was the best thing to Leon, then seeing her upset by something, let alone him, was the worst. He hadn't meant to hurt her even more and he hated himself for doing so. The one time when he tried to have a heart-to-heart conversation with her, this happens. He shook his head and slammed his fist into the nearby cement wall, the stinging in his knuckles working only minorly to clear his head. _He just cared so deeply for her, but when he tried to show her, the words always came out wrong and the short-tempered ninja girl misunderstood. _

_()----------flashback----------()_

The rush of madness and excitement, the laughter and shouts, and the slowly departing crowd of adolescents could only mean one thing: a rock concert had just ended in Radiant Garden. One of the best rising indie bands in the world had performed, such that many excited fangirls stuck around in the hopes of talking to the band members, or at least catching a glimpse of them as they left the stage.

"Yuffie, don't go far!"

"I won't, Squall!" the sixteen year old ninja girl responded for good measure, and then disappeared into the densest part of the crowd.

It was intensely suffocating and sometimes dangerous to wade into the center of what a couple minutes earlier was a mosh pit, but Yuffie was used to it by now. She attended nearly every rock concert in Hollow Bastion. Though she wasn't much of a musician herself (though she could play a mean drum solo when she wanted to), it helped that her boyfriend was...

"Hey Yuffie! Looking for Myde!?" one of her friends screamed into her ear.

She nodded zealously. "Yeah! Have you seen him?"

"He just left the stage!" The other girl pointed in a right-facing direction.

Yuffie continued to push her way to the front, and by the time she reached the edge she had not only been elbowed in the ribs and kicked in the shins, but somehow she was also kneed in the face. However, her petiteness allowed for a rather quick journey, and she was soon able to breathe fresh air as she passed to the other side. Taking a sharp right, she continued along the edge of the stage. She looked around and around, but was unable to see over the heads of people much taller than her.

"Yuffie!" She was relieved immediately as she heard the familiar voice.

And about ten seconds later she saw him. Six feet tall, long strawberry blonde hair styled in your average rock star fashion, and bluish-green eyes that you could just sink into. Beads of sweat sparkled on his forehead. His arms closed around her, and she lay her head against his chest to hear his racing heart for just a few seconds before he released her. _She loved the feel of his adrenaline rush after he played a concert._

"Why were you in the pit? You know it's dangerous, and you're little!" he exclaimed, looking into her eyes.

"Now you're starting to sound like Squall," she joked, neck angled up so that she could stare back.

Myde laughed. "Well, we don't want that, but I still worry about you. C'mon, let's go somewhere quieter."

He snaked his left arm around her thin waist, and led her around the mob this time, so that they reached the back of the area where she had been earlier much easier. They kept walking, and only stopped for a moment as Yuffie heard a familiar voice.

"Where are you going?" Squall interrogated from behind her.

She turned to him. "The Ravine Trail." Of course, the infamous Ravine Trail which led to the Dark Depths, a _strategic_ spot for adolescent couples.

Squall rolled his eyes. "Fine, but be careful, you know what could be out there. And don't forget, you told your mother you would be home before 10."

_Stupid curfew. _And why did her parents always trust Squall anyway? The only reason they allowed her to go to the concert was knowing he would be there. He was a friend of the family, but being three years older than Yuffie, she hardly knew him. He didn't seem all that responsible himself, but he sure kept an annoyingly close watch on her.

"Don't worry about it, man. I'll make sure she gets home okay," Myde interjected from her side.

Squall gave a jerky nod, and then turned back to his own group of friends. He never had liked Myde for some reason that Yuffie could never seem to place.

"Let's go before he changes his mind!" Yuffie giggled, and the two power-walked away.

The sun had just about set beyond the horizon, so that the lights along the walls of the Ravine Trail had automatically turned on, illuminating the way. (Nowhere in the land was left in darkness at night anymore, it was too perilous. Most families even slept with the lights of their houses on.)

Myde laced his fingers with Yuffie's, and they walked so that their arms brushed with each step. Their time together always felt so short these days, and feeling each other there was comforting.

They stopped right before the stunning Crystal Fissure, not wanting to venture too far, as it was pushing 9:30 now.

Yuffie leaned against the rock wall, Myde stood before her. "Did you like the concert?" he asked, making it clear that the only critique that mattered was the one from her.

"Mhmm. It was one of your best."

He beamed. "You know...that new song, the one you hadn't heard before. I wrote it for you..."

"The one about falling into a dark abyss, receiving no help from those above, and being consumed by hatred?" Yuffie asked slyly, an amused twinkle in her eyes.

"No, of course not! That one is a political sta-"

"-statement about the inability of our leader to provide the people with protection in these, the darkest days of our world yet. I know, I was just kidding."

He smirked. "The one about the girl more radiant than the garden. The materia-hunting ninja, who, instead, stole my heart," he said softly.

Yuffie swooned. It was times like these that she wanted nothing more than to live in Myde's arms. She wrapped herself around him, and leaned up for the kiss that came. Their lips seemed glued together for the next five minutes, during which time Yuffie's tongue won in a great battle and Myde's was forced to retreat. Eventually Yuffie got a bit stiff from leaning up (the height difference often did cause such problems) and pulled back.

"Your other fans won't appreciate that much, Mister Lead Singer and Sitarist," she whispered.

"I don't care what they think. You're my only real fan, the only one I care for. _I love you so much_, Yuffie Kisaragi." His hand brushed through her short black hair.

"I love you too, My."

They kissed again, but this one lasted only two minutes or so, before they were interrupted by a throat-clearing noise that came from behind Myde. Yuffie peered around him, to see a cross-armed Squall looking everywhere but at her.

"Are you aware of the time, Yuffie?" He asked more to the rock wall above her head than her.

"Mmm." She pulled at Myde's wrist, lifted up the sleeve of his black top to reveal a watch, and gasped. "10:04, crap!"

"Don't worry about it, I'll take you home now, Yuffie," Myde said. "You won't be too late."

"That's alright, Myde, I can take her. You live on the other side of town, don't you?" Squall offered.

"I can get there quicker myself!" Yuffie snapped at Squall. She kissed Myde quickly on the cheek, and ran off towards home.

Myde and Squall were left standing there alone, the dislike between the two so obvious that it was smothering. Myde glared towards the other young man.

"Now look what you did, making her rush off! It's dangerous for her to be alone," he hissed, and then walked away, shaking his head.

Squall sighed, leaning against the wall. It was dangerous, but Yuffie lived on the very near side of town, not far at all. Plus, she was perfectly capable of using some of her ninja skills if attacked. _Still, sending her away like that, all bothered with him...well, it was necessary._


	2. When I'm Done With Endings

_Maybe when I'm done with thinking,_

_Maybe you can think me whole._

_Maybe when I'm done with endings_

_This can begin, this can begin,_

_This can begin._

Leon yawned and stretched as he awoke, sitting up in his bed. Merlin had magically fixed enough buildings the day before so that each member of the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee could have their own one-room mini-house. His quite suited him, with a large picture window in the front so he could watch anything going on outside.

They had gotten a lot accomplished, but Leon tried to forget the day before...it had been one of the most miserable days that he could remember in the past five years. Yuffie had appeared just as happy as ever around Aerith, Cid, and Merlin. Around him she had been shockingly distant, quiet, and lethargic. He had hit a nerve, apparently, as nothing had ever made Yuffie act so differently.

He hadn't slept well, but layed awake for hours thinking of ways to fix their relationship. And during that time he had finally faced what she had said; '_I'm capable of taking care of myself'_. For as long as he could remember he had guarded and shielded her. It was his own way of trying to show how much he cared, so the fact that it bothered her...he just didn't understand.

Looking towards his window, he saw a sudden flash of black stream past. His eyes widened. No...it couldn't be..._heartless?_ With a sudden bang his door flew open.

He was about to leap up with his gunblade when he saw, "Yuffie?" and he breathed easier. The girl had kicked the door open, and walked in quite unceremoniously.

"Cid has a new Gummi ship he wanted to show us and I was wondering if you wanted to-" she paused, finally noticing him. "Wow, Leon. You're a mess. Startled by something?" she smirked, walking up close to his sitting figure and peering into his tired eyes.

"I thought you were- hey, it doesn't matter. Yuffie, I just wanted to apologize for yes-"

She put a hand up to shush him, and smiled. "You need to learn to let things go! I'm not still upset about that."

"You're...not?" he questioned, taken aback.

"Nope. Not at all, as long as you listened to what I said. I love having you around, Squall, but you treat me like a little kid most of the time." She became a bit more serious, though still smiling.

"I'm sorry you feel that way. It wasn't my intention at all."

"Mmm. I believe you. You are sort of helplessly, socially awkward," she said and nodded.

"What!? That wasn't very nice," he raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, you know, you look really funny in the morning!" she laughed, and ruffled his hair with her left hand. "Your hair's all messy!"

"Cut it out!" He caught her arm and pushed it away gently.

As soon as he touched her and held her arm a bit longer than usual, Yuffie felt a slight warmth rise in her cheeks, that she hoped went unnoticed. He soon let go and flattened his hair with his hands.

"So, you said Cid has a new ship?"

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Let's go check it out!"

Before waiting for a response, Yuffie grabbed his hand and pretended to pull him up (as he actually stood up himself to go with her), and the two ran out the door. Leon was glad to have his old enthusiastic friend back, even if that's all she would ever be...

"It's on the other side of the Marketplace," she said.

Their hands only became disconnected as the entered the other area, across which they could indeed see what looked like a shiny, new space vehicle. When they reached the (unofficial) Gummi station, they found Cid chatting away to a politely listening and nodding Aerith, who clearly had no knowledge or interest in exactly what he was going on about.

"Hey there, Leon! I was just telling Aerith, 0 to 150 in under 3 seconds!"

"That's pretty good, Cid. Horsepower?" the other man responded knowingly.

"Somewhere around 18,000."

Yuffie giggled her way over to the now off-the-hook Aerith, who looked slightly dazed but very relieved.

"Guy talk...who understands it, right?" Yuffie said.

Aerith smiled gently at the younger girl. "Boys will be boys. I must give them credit, though, with all of this technilogical ship-talk, they really are rather intelligent."

"Intelligent, Squally? He just likes mindlessly shooting and stabbing heartless. I don't think he cares about, or even knows how to do, anything else," Yuffie laughed.

"Hmm. I think you're wrong there. Leon's more complex than that."

Yuffie shrugged her shoulders and smirked, prancing off to the large ship parked in front of them. The bright colors of the thing entranced her. She ran her hand along the side, where a blinding yellow shooting star was painted on a background of black, purple, and blue.

"It really is quite pretty!" she thought aloud.

"Pretty? It's not meant to be _pretty_. It's efficient. It alerts friendly ships as to our presence, whilst warning enemy ships to stay away," Cid barked, apparently annoyed by Yuffie's less-than-professional appraisal of the ship.

She wasn't phased by the snap. "Well, what else do I have to look for in a Gummi ship? I don't appreciate them in any other way. They make me feel gross." She put her hand to her stomach. Every time she had to ride in one, to train in the coliseum with Leon, she usually layed down in the back with ginger ale and crackers until they arrived.

Cid then proceeded to say something so complicated and confusing that Yuffie tilted her head and stared wide-eyed. She deduced about four words from the entire thing: "aerodynamic, shock absorbers, and ship", only the last of which she understood the meaning of.

By the time he was done, she had nearly collapsed with confoundedness and had zoned out completely. "Umm...what was that last thing you said?"

Cid rolled his eyes. "I said, even you shouldn't feel motion sickness, kid."

Her mouth formed an 'O' of understanding.

_()----------flashback----------()_

_"Even you won't feel motion sickness, Yuffie," _Myde assured her.

It was a little after dinner time, and the two teenagers stood by the small wooden dock of Radiant Lake, where Myde had taken Yuffie under the pretense that he had a fantastic surprise to show her. When she noticed that this surprise turned out only to be a shiny new motorboat, Yuffie was less than keen to try it out. Myde's one love next to music was boating, but it was rare that she would go out with him on one, as her annoying motion sickness caused even worse sea sickness.

Even just standing on the dock and looking down at the rippling water below made Yuffie's stomach churn unpleasantly. She hated to disappoint Myde like this, but she was doubtful. She looked down to their laced fingers.

"I don't know, My..."

"Yuffie, I promise you, I bought this boat with you in mind. It rides smoother than any I've ever been in. And it's a nice day, no wind, which means no waves."

He let go of her hand and hopped from the dock into the boat. Yuffie frowned and watched, not moving an inch closer to the thing.

"We don't have to go too far if you don't want to, just a little ways up. If you don't feel good we can turn right around. Please trust me, ninja girl." He offered his hand towards her to help her into the boat.

There was a warmth to him that she could not refuse. _He was so excited to finally take her out._ And she new that he wouldn't risk making her sick, so she put her small hand in his, and after she stepped over the edge he scooped her up and placed her on one of the seats in the boat.

"I trust you," she said, smiling weakly.

"You're going to love this. I'm sure of it." And with that he started up the boat and drove it away from the dock.

Yuffie, sitting directly next to him, clutched his right arm nervously, burying her face in his t-shirt. He laughed gently, resting his chin on her head so that they were neck-against-neck. He controlled the steering with his left hand, and they moved quickly across the gargatuan, three-mile long lake.

"Oh, look at that!" Myde tenderly nudged her.

"Mmm?" Yuffie hesitantly raised her head. "Aww!" They had just passed a huge family of swans, two parents followed by five grey sygnets.

She kept her head up this time, looking behind them to see that they had traveled very far from shore.

"How are you feeling?" he questioned, rubbing her back with his now free right hand.

"Actually...I feel perfectly fine!" she exclaimed happily.

"I'm glad." He smiled down at her, refraining from an 'I-told-you-so'...their relationship was beyond that.

"I-I think I finally understand why you like it so much out here," she paused for a moment to look around. Being on the lake seemed to put them in the middle of something so great, a whole natural world within a world. "It's _spectacular_."

"Mhmm. I think this a good spot to stop for a little while." He brought the boat to a slow stop below a bending willow tree about ten feet from the bank.

Every now and again a big fish would leap up from the depths and plunge back in, forming spherical ripples in the surface of the clear water. Bluebirds chirped from the branches above, and crickets in the marshes began to play a quiet tune.

Myde and Yuffie snuggled together, not taking for granted this moment at which they were completely alone. He cupped his hand under her chin and raised it, their faces only inches apart. He softly kissed her lips, nothing more, and then pressed his forehead against her's. Everything was silent; they needed no sentimental words in their time together. Words were _earthly_, while their love was _divine_.

Five minutes later, the sun threatened to set in the horizon directly across from them. Yuffie had never been out on the lake to see this before, and it took her by shock as it happened.

The fiery orb cast an orange and pink light over the entirity of the lake, so that it no longer appeared clear, blue, or green, but instead was molten, liquid gold. The sky reflected these colors spontaneously: nature's own light show. For fifteen minutes the two young lovers sat watching the display, until the sun finally sank and they were cast in shadows.

"That's why they call it _Radiant_ Lake," Yuffie breathed, head on Myde's shoulder.

"No, I don't think it is," the boy whispered into her ear.

She sat up straight and looked into his eyes questionably, until he pointed behind them, down at the water. Yuffie turned and looked down, met only _with her own reflection._ A small giggle turned into more of a surreal sigh. Her violet eyes were wide in the moonlight.

"You are the boy that I am going to marry," she promised.

"What a wonderful life we'll have."

**o-------------------o**

**A/N: **Hi, thanks for reading it thus far! I just started band camp on Monday, and next week I start school, so updates may be a bit slower than before. ;.;

Please review, even if all you have is criticism! Especially if you are going to add this to alerts/favorites, I'd like to hear from you! Reviews keep me motivated and on-track.


	3. My Punk Rock Princess

_If you could be my punk rock princess,_

_I would be your garage band king._

_You can tell me why you just don't fit in_

_And how you're gonna be something._

"Come on, Yuffie, you can do better than that!" Leon shouted across their makeshift arena.

"Hmph!" She reared back and tossed her shuriken at him with all of her strength.

He just managed to duck in time to avoid the star-like weapon, which changed direction like a boomerang and returned to its owner. In the moment when Yuffie leapt up to reclaim it, Leon shot a fire-like blast out of his gunblade towards the younger girl, who spun deftly in the air to avoid it, before landing catlike on the ground.

"That would've hurt if it hit me!" she complained, glowering.

"Good thing it didn't hit you then," he shrugged.

The two comrades were training together in the wide open castle gates area of Hollow Bastion for the upcoming Coliseum tournament. (They had received word after Sora's recent visit that the Underdrome would be opening soon, and they were getting in as much preparation as possible.) Though they were seemingly fighting each other with everything in their arsenals, the two rarely ended up hurting one another. Rather than exploiting the other's weakness, they played on their strengths of dodging and attacking carefully.

"Ready for a break?" Leon questioned, holding his gunblade in a relaxed stance.

"Just after..." Yuffie responded and _disappeared._

But Leon knew her trick, and turned around just in time to see the ninja girl leaping up from directly behind him, and he easily blocked her following attack.

"Teleportation. That is quite the useful little maneuver," he congratulated.

"I think so." She chuckled and made her shuriken revolve around her entire person for fun.

"I really think we're going to nail the tournament this time. That Keyblade boy won't stand a chance," he remarked.

"You should never underestimate Sora. And don't forget, just last week he helped you secure the bailey from those horrid creatures..." Yuffie replied.

"I could've handled it myself if he hadn't shown up." Leon's lips tightened as he ran a hand through his dark brown hair.

"Of course you could have," Yuffie said, voice void of sarcasm, and pat him on the shoulder. He liked to think he could protect his own territory, and who was she to say otherwise? "All of this practice made me thirsty, I'm going home for a drink," she finished, and turned.

Leon watched as she walked up the low steps and the crumbling pathway towards the Borough. But then there was a massive bang from behind them. Both whirled around to see about twenty heartless entering from the Ravine Trail, probably escaped from the Great Maw.

"Ready to put our training to use?" Yuffie said excitedly, before running into the midst of the heartless with her shuriken spinning.

Leon gave an unnecessary nod, and blasted two heartless into powder with his gunblade before proceeding into the center of the struggle, swinging the blade this way and that.

It didn't take them long to destroy the weaker heartless enemies (made up of Shadows and Sparkle Rays) before turning their attention to the more formidable opponents. Yuffie's shuriken was a blur through the air, and she teleported as a cloud of smoke in every direction. Meanwhile, Leon took out an entire swarm of Neoshadows in a single swing of his weapon.

Yuffie laughed with delight as she forced a Morning Star heartless against the stone wall, where she proceeded to eliminate it with about three hits.

"Yuffie, watch out!"

It happened in a blur. She felt a great pressure on her back, and went flying into the wall in front of her. Before she could bounce back her entire arm starting burning. Craning her neck, Yuffie saw the Morning Star that had attacked her burst into dust as Leon shot a fireball at it.

"Yuffie, hold on! It's going to be alright!" He was running full speed across the space between them to the girl.

"Leon, wha-?"

Yuffie didn't understand, but as she looked down at her now-numb, right arm she did. There was a gaping _hole _straight through the center of it, so that everything was visible. Blood, muscle, bone...even the ground behind it. Veins were severed, and blood gushed out in what appeared to be an almost surreal amount. Tears burned her eyes, and her head began to spin. The world was in shadows before her.

A gasp escaped her lips, and before she could collapse she felt Leon's warm arms wrap around her. She proceeded to black out.

Leon easily picked up her small frame and ran towards the Bailey. He was terrified, near to panic, but he kept moving for her. Blood continued to pour from the wound, soaking into Leon's jacket and leaving a trail of red droplets behind him. Her limbs bounced up and down unpleasantly as he ran, like some sort of ragdoll.

"_Aerith,_" he mumbled, knowing that she would be able to fix Yuffie right up, if he reached her in time.

_I'm not going to lose her. I can't lose her...I can't!_

If only he could run faster, like Yuffie could...he continued on at his maximum speed through the gate of the Restoration Site. Last Leon had seen of Aerith she was hanging around the Postern, beautifying the castle.

It took a few minutes to reach the Postern, though it felt like millenia to Leon, who blamed himself for the unfortunate accident with the heartless. He should have payed more attention to how Yuffie was doing, now if anything happened to her...

"Oh, hi Leon...Yuffie!" Aerith turned around to see the the two drenched in blood.

"Please, Aerith, heal her!" Leon kneeled and gently rested the small girl on the ground.

Aerith maintained calm and ran to her side, casting heal several times so that the hole on Yuffie's arm shrunk. Slowly the skin seemed to creep forward and connect until it sealed completely.

She put her hand against Yuffie's cheek and forehead, as well as her right wrist to check for a pulse.

"Well?" Leon pressed, on edge.

Aerith kneeled in a more relaxing position, flattening her skirt as she did.

"She's very cold from the loss of blood. But everything is fixed in her arm, the veins are working. Leon, what happened...you didn't-?" She was curious, but paused mid-sentence realizing it was a horrible thing to ask.

"We were attacked, heartless."

He put his hand on Yuffie's without even noticing and sighed.

"You worry about her," Aerith noted.

"I do...she's just so confident and gets herself into these situations."

"Kind of like you..."

But he didn't reply, as Yuffie was slowly awakening, eyes darting open. Leon spontaneously pulled his hand back. She sat up, tilting her head to the side as she looked at Aerith, then Leon.

"The Postern? Leon, you carried me the entire way h-here!" She laughed, but her teeth gave an involuntary chatter at the end. "Wow, it's freezing. Isn't it?"

"No...it's not." He leaned back and took off his jacket, then handed it down to Yuffie, who was surprised but accepted. "You can give it back later...I'm glad you're okay." He then stood straight up and walked off.

Yuffie pulled the jacket on without a second thought, comforted by the fuzzy white fur around the collar that tickled her neck. She cuddled into it, hardly believing that she was wearing _his _jacket. _Squall's _jacket.

"He's so..." she sighed and stopped.

"So what?" Aerith questioned curiously.

"I don't know...he's confusing. One minute he doesn't care at all, and the next..."

"...he's giving you his jacket. Leon is, well, Leon. But he cares about you _very_ much, Yuffie, he always does. You should have seen his face when he carried you here. I've never seen him so frightened."

"Squally...frightened?" Her violet eyes widened. "I don't know, Aerith..." she added doubtfully, and stood up. "I...I think I should go rest for a little while. I'll see you later." Yuffie gave a sort of half-wave and flounced away.

Meanwhile, Leon returned from the Restoration Site, walking up to a pensive Aerith.

"I don't think your idea of dropping 'subtle yet frequent hints' is working, Leon," she murmured as the man stood behind her.

"She's completely oblivious," he responded gruffly. "Maybe it's better that way."

"Mmm...but did you see how her face lit up when I told her that you care?" she turned to face him, smiling.

"Hmm?"

-----------------------

Yuffie followed a narrow path around the edge of the castle, looking down at her knee-high sneakers as she walked slowly. Her arms were crossed in an attempt to conserve her body heat within the coat. She chewed her bottom lip so hard that it turned rosy red.

The road in front of her forked. The right way would lead her to the far end of the Borough, while the left..._what was down that path? _Hmm. Tapping her head with her index finger, she made the only Yuffie-logical decision possible, and turned left.

It was not long before she remembered, though everything looked so different. This avenue had once been bordered by wildflowers, dwarf trees, and shrubbery. Now it was barren...similar to everything else in Hollow Bastion. But there was no mistaking this curvy pathway, that snaked around unnecessarily, so that rather than being direct and efficient it was ideal for a pleasure stroll...down to the lake...the Lake.

The ground began to slope, and Yuffie could make out the remaining trees that hid the body of water from view. She broke into a jog. This was it...something familiar, and somehow, she believed, when she reached it everything would change.

_()----------flashback----------()_

Yuffie had learned to love that lake over the past few weeks, such that Myde had never dreamed possible. In much of their down time, when Myde had allotted breaks from band practice and Yuffie was allowed out, they took to the boat and relived that other beautiful night.

But this evening was divergent from the norm, in that Yuffie had snuck out of her house after curfew, and it was much too late to use the boat. (The loud motor could very likely alert others to the rule-breaking teenagers.)

"Where should we go?" she whispered into his ear after she climbed out her bedroom window into the night.

"Let's just walk down to the Lake," he breathed back, wrapping his left arm around her shoulders.

And then they began to walk, following the long and winding pathway out of the Borough. Soon they could make out both the shadowy castle looming in the distance, and the tops of trees around the lake nearby.

They did not end up at the dock where Myde kept his boat, but instead a little ways down where the path opened to an almost beach-like area, with soft dirt that could almost pass as sand. It was a spot where kids loved to swim when the weather was warm. A boulder-like rock jutted into the water, which was deep even close in.

Pale moonlight shone over the calm waters as Yuffie and Myde passed through a layer of trees and into this little area.

"Myde, what're you doing?" Yuffie called as he let go of her hand and climbed onto the boulder.

He smirked over his shoulder at her and winked, then pulled his shirt over his head and pulled down his pants. He was left in his boxers, with his clothes abandoned at his feet. He then ran across the entire rock and utilized it like a diving board, leaping and diving expertly into the water below, disappearing below the dark surface.

Yuffie gasped, running to the very edge of the lake, and watched as Myde leapt up like a dolphin, and pushed his blonde hair out of his face so he could look at her. "Showoff..." she mouthed quietly, rolling her eyes.

"What was that?" he asked, treading water.

"Oh nothing. You're crazy, Myde." She shook her head in disbelief.

"Crazy _in love_," he replied. Rearing back, he sent a great splash of water in her direction.

She yelped and dodged the water. "You think you can change everything I say around like that. Well, you can't!" She crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Aw, c'mon Yuffie. Come swim with me."

"I think I'll pass..."

"Yuffieee," he urged. "The water's fine."

"You think just because you're dripping wet and gorgeous I'll give in, don't you? Well I've got news for you, Myde, I'm stronger than that, I-" she began and paused as Myde began to pout. _Oh that puppy dog face. _With a sigh she shrugged. "I guess it won't hurt."

"Yay!"

"But I'm not getting naked!" she snapped, putting all teenage-boy fantasies out of his head.

"Aw. Well, I figured as much."

Yuffie grinned and chuckled as she stripped to her underwear, and then approached the water again. However, as soon as she touched a single toe to the liquid, she leapt back. "It's freezing!"

"It's not that bad!" he retorted, as though defensive of the water.

Grumbling, she stepped forward again, and held her breath as she took one giant step and walked into the lake, which now came about to her knees. She released the breath as her skin broke out into goosebumps.

"A bit further..." Myde pressed.

And so she ran further until she could no longer touch the bottom of the pitch black water, and doggie-paddled rather amusingly to the nearby Myde, who had to hold back a chuckle...she certainly was alot more awkward in the water than he was. He wrapped his arms around her waist, so that he tread the water and Yuffie needed only to float near him.

"You think you're just so cute," she teased, looking into his green eyes.

"Or maybe you think I am, and you're just too proud to admit it," he responded, kissing along her cheek.

"No I don't," she said halfheartedly, though tilting her head slightly with the kisses.

"I think you do..." he kissed her neck this time.

"Mmm...only a little," she admitted, lacing her arms around his neck and leaning into him.

About ten minutes later, Myde was getting a bit tired from treading water for the both of them, and Yuffie's goosebumps, which had gone away for a little while, were back. So they came to an unvocalized agreement to leave the water, and swam, then walked, hand in hand to the shore.

Myde sat on the rock and Yuffie nearby him, dripping wet together. He then grabbed his nearby jeans and pulled something from the pocket, turning slightly away from her. Yuffie heard some loud scratches, so she curiously peeked over his shoulder.

Into the rock he carved with a pocket knife.

_Myde  
and  
Yuffie  
Forever!_

The words were enclosed in a binding heart.

**o--------------------o**

**A/N: **Ahh, this chapter took such a long time, and ended up a bit longer than I had intended, so I cut some stuff out. No matter, I'm pretty pleased with it anyway.

The next chapter should be pretty exciting...it will not include a flashback.

Please review!!! If you review I'll...umm...give you a...ummm...cookie? Yeah, a cookie! -holds up plate of cookies- Mmm, fresh from the imaginary fanfiction review-bribing oven! -fans scent at readers-


	4. Your Eyes Get Wide

_Maybe when your hair gets darker,_

_Maybe when your eyes get wide,_

_Maybe when the walls are smaller_

_There will be more space._

Yuffie slowed herself as she reached the thin layer of trees, which she had to zig-zag through carefully to pass. When she reached the other side she looked around wildly, this way and that. So it is no wonder that she quickly realized all was not normal at Radiant Lake, but instead...

On the familiar boulder sat a figure clad all in black, who had not heard Yuffie's light footed approach. The apparently male figure rested statue-like against his knees, hands behind him as if relaxing in a semi-bored manner. He gazed out over the lake.

It was sunset.

And Yuffie halted, silently still, because she saw him. And she knew him.

The brief orange light was known to play tricks on one's eyes, but not like this. It was him. Though the angle of the sun cast him in jagged shadows, his silhouette was as she remembered. His posture was the same.

The emotions came pouring from Yuffie all at once, like a released flood gate, as an excited, though considerably jolted whimper escaped her lips. "You're back..."

And the figure turned only in time to see this thrilled girl scurrying towards him. He gasped wide-eyed as she pounced in one swift movement onto the rock and forced him into a sudden, and in his opinion, unwarranted embrace. Never had he been so taken aback that he had no idea on how to respond. As she buried her face against his chest, he was frightened.

"Myde!" she sobbed into him, "I knew you survived! I knew you'd come back!"

It took Yuffie a bit longer than usual, in her exceedingly emotional state, to realize that something was wrong as the young man failed to respond. She finally let go, sniffling, and looked at him.

"I'm sorry to disappoint a pretty girl like you, but my name isn't Myde. I'm-" He tried to remain calm as he explained, but he was interrupted.

"Y-you don't remember me? Have I changed that much?" she whispered, holding tight onto both of his arms.

Yuffie's eyes narrowed and she frowned, tilting her head. Her violet eyes were soaked.

Wait a moment...violet eyes...how odd! He had only ever seen those in..._a dream._

"Hold on...are you...Yuffie? The ninja girl?"

"Oh, My! You remember now!" She perked up with relief.

"I'm not Myde...but, I know you somehow...I've been having these dreams about you every night since arriving here." It felt strange to admit it, he felt like a lunatic...but this was pertinent information.

"You must have lost your memories that night, that's all! But you're remembering now that you're back. I've been recalling more about us too, lately." She nodded assuredly. "Myde, I'm so glad you're back. We can pick up where we left off! It's going to be like it used to..."

"Yuffie, please listen. My name's Demyx...I can't be who you think I am. Myde, did you say?"

She nodded somberly to his question, but refused to be convinced. "You look just like him. Well, it was five years ago, so you would have changed a bit...but...I've never forgotten. It's you..." she trailed off.

But Demyx was suddenly caught up in his thoughts. _It couldn't be...what are the odds? In all worlds of the universe, could this really have been...mine? It's always possible I just look similarly to someone else, though... _He was too curious and affected to turn back now. He had to know.

"Yuffie...I'm going to ask you to bare with me here, okay?" he began, allowing her to continue her grasp on his arms. This was totally out of his playing field, but he was trying hard.

Her head rose and fell once.

"I need you to spell this name for me, the one you've been calling me."

About ten thousand questions swam through Yuffie's mind, but they all became so jumbled that she vocalized not a single one. She sighed, hoping all of these difficulties would end soon, and that Myde would simply act normal.

Rising her right hand from his arm, she shifted a bit to the left on the rock, and placed her hand onto the cool, dirty surface. Demyx watched as she brushed debris this way and that, and slowly uncovered a carving of words. It was intact, though a bit less legible than five years earlier. She traced her pointer finger through the word _'forever'_, but it was something else that caught Demyx's eye.

_Myde._

Staring at the first name for a brief moment and then breaking off a small twig from a nearby tree, he proceeded to trace it through the soil on the ground.

"D-e-m-y-x," he murmured as he wrote each letter.

The obviousness of the situation struck him suddenly after looking from the name engraved in the rock to his own in the ground a couple times. It was a major blow, mind boggling in a sense.

"Myde..." His hand went to his forehead as he shook his head. "I never expected to find this out...I guess it doesn't really matter but, it's odd, knowing the identity of _my Somebody._"

He was quiet, mumbling incessantly to himself.

"_Demyx? _What are you talking about?" Yuffie asked, finding it hard not to call him Myde.

How to explain? He sighed with a groan, but turned to face her. "I don't look exactly like him, do I?"

"Well, this light isn't the best..." (The sun had set and it was quite dark.)

"Come stand here and look at me." He walked into a patch of white moonlight, illuminated well.

Yuffie followed, and stood in front of him. Then she observed him, every little detail. Demyx remained still as she did.

The hair was very different in style, and was dirty blonde as opposed to strawberry.

His nose was perhaps a bit shorter, and skin color; darker. His lips may have been wider.

But he was the same hight and..."But your eyes...your blue-green eyes. They're the same." Her gaze fell into his.

He nodded. "They would be. I don't know much about this, but I know that much."

"I'm sorry, but I still don't understand at all," she said.

"It's hard to explain," he began, "You seem like a nice girl, Yuffie. I don't want to hurt you, but I guess you need to know the truth. I can't have you thinking that I'm him, because I'm not...I'm less than a piece of Myde, a shadow."

"Y-you're not...a heartless!?" she squeaked, stepping back slightly.

"No, no! Definitely not, but you're getting there. I'm a sort of..._shell_, of him. Half of what he was, if that. I'm his _Nobody_."

Yuffie gasped at the final word. She had only briefly heard Leon speaking to Sora about this sort of thing, but still comprehended immediately. "So you're saying that, because Myde's heart was so strong, he was not only killed that night..."

"...but split, body and spirit from heart," he finished for her.

"O-oh n-no!" she started tearing up again now that the thought hit her like bricks.

Myde didn't die with dignity...but he was ripped against his will. It just couldn't be...

And then she was holding herself and sobbing into her hands as the uncomfortable Demyx stood watching. He frowned.

"Hey...umm, it's...okay," he mumbled. "It's not so bad."

"N-not so b-bad!? M-my was turned i-into a freaking h-heartless! I could have killed him again for all I know!" she wailed.

"And a Nobody," he mumbled under his breath.

Who knew a single girl could cry so hard?

"Look, Yuffie...it's happened to a lot of people. It really isn't as serious as you think. Myde's heart has probably been freed by now." _If only I could have had it..._

That actually calmed her. Demyx sighed with relief as Yuffie's tears slowed and she lowered her now sparkling-with-wetness hands. She looked at him with wide eyes.

"Y-you think so?"

"Oh yes," he replied. It would not help to say otherwise.

"Well, that'd be better, then." She smiled very weakly. "So you're a remnant of him, then? You probably have alot in common with him..."

"I am...but I don't know if I do. I don't have any real memories of being him."

"Then I'm glad you're here. Thanks for letting me know." And she hugged him quickly again, before he could protest. But this time she was really hugging _Demyx_, not Myde.

Demyx did not deny her that. He may have been emotionless, and perhaps even without a conscience, but he was not cruel. And there was something he liked about her.

Yuffie felt the difference immediately. She would have noticed it before if she hadn't been so overly-excited. Whenever she used to hug Myde it was always the same, she would listen to his beating heart in order to figure out his mood. But with Demyx, she heard _nothing_. There was _nothing_.

Sort of shaken, she pulled back, blinking away a final tear.

"Can I see you again?" she whispered.

"It depends. Do you promise to remember that I'm not _him, _no matter what we might have in common?" He paused, before adding, "and you can't fall in love with me."

"I promise."

"Then alright, I think that'd be okay. But you _must_ keep this between us, and I'll be here."

She nodded and then walked backwards, keeping her eyes on Demyx as she did, before turning around and running away through the trees. It was getting late, and odds were Aerith and Leon were wondering where she was.

_This was the first night since arriving in Hollow Bastion that Yuffie didn't dream of Myde. Somehow, she was at peace._

**o--------------------------o**

**A/N: **Yay for Yuffie meeting Demyx! I just had to add him as a sort of aside to the story. You really can't have a whole plot about Myde without having his Nobody, can you? Exactly.

I start school tomorrow. This is my last day of freedom...so I decided to get this chapter finished up quickly. Oh, this is so nerve racking. Senior year.

And of course, please review! Even if you don't have much nice to say, I'll take criticism because it always helps to improve me. But especially if you have enjoyed the story thus far, saying so gives me an incentive to continue...


	5. I Can't Replace

_Maybe when I'm not so tired,_

_Maybe you could step inside._

_Maybe when I look for things that_

_I can't replace, I can't replace,_

_I can't replace._

Because Yuffie had been out quite late the night before (after having left Demyx she went not directly home, but to Merlin's house where she met up with Aerith for awhile), and as she was also in a weakened state, Yuffie awoke very late the next morning. In fact, it was almost noontime by the time she opened her eyes.

For a moment she lost all barings of where she was, but then remembered having fallen asleep abruptly on the corner bed in the house. No one had wanted to disturb her by waking her up to send her to her own house.

So it was not where she was that she cared for at that moment, but _who she was with_.

She felt the sensation of being watched.

Aerith had long since left, and Cid was nowhere to be seen. But as soon as Yuffie tilted her head slightly to look around she saw Leon sitting at the table, head inclined towards her.

It was not surprise, nor confusion once she realized who it was that Yuffie felt, but the familiar yet startling quickened heartbeat ensued when her eyes found those sapphires of Leon's. She had come to expect and hardly acknowledge this feeling, but awakening to it sensitized her slightly.

"Hey, Leon, what're you doing here?" She sat up in the bed, and leaned her back on the frame.

"Hi Yuffie, I came to-"

"Oh! I know what it is!" she interrupted.

"You do?" he questioned doubtfully.

"Yeah. Of course, you came for your jacket. I should've given it back to you last night," she said in a hurried voice, quickly pulling off the thing that she had not removed earlier, and handing it to him.

He took it, feeling the warmth of body heat in the material, and held the jacket close as if it was comforting.

"That wasn't actually my reason for being here," he admitted.

"Mm?"

But he stumbled over the words that almost came to his tongue, and resorted to a bland, "How are you feeling?"

_No surprise there, that's all Squall ever asks. _"I'm perfectly fine. I'm not even cold anymore. Look." She held her arm out to show no visible marks or damage.

"I'm so glad..." he murmured.

"Was there anything else?"

"No, no," he said quickly against better judgment before quietly adding, "Actually...yes." He anxiously tapped his fingers on the table whilst pausing in the speech that he had so carefully planned. It never worked that way, did it?

Yuffie slipped her legs out of the bed, so that she now sat perched on the edge, directly facing the man.

"Yes? I'm listening, Squally."

Leon was evidently nervous about something, and Yuffie was quite shocked by his behavior. He was always so unshakable. He held himself together so well. Seeing him now was like seeing an entirely different person.

His eyes darted from random object in the room to Yuffie at an almost dizzying speed; the computer flashing incomprehensible green codes, the ninja; the small side table featuring a book, the girl upon the bed...and so on.

After a couple minutes passed, during which time Leon worked to untie his tongue, he finally settled himself down.

"Yuffie, remember what you said to Aerith yesterday?" he began in a sort of off voice.

"Hmm." She shrugged and thought, legs swinging forwards and backwards against the bed. "Wait, you mean after she healed me?"

Leon simply nodded.

"I didn't know you overheard that...I didn't mean to offend you if I did." She looked down at her legs, frowning.

"No, you didn't, not really. I know the way I act isn't quite the traditional friendly-type, so it's no wonder that sometimes you think I don't care," he said quickly, hating to see Yuffie feeling bad in any sense.

She looked up. "You make it so hard sometimes for me to understand you. I always feel like I'm walking on eggshells in our friendship. Because I can't read your mood, I always expect you're in a decent one, so sometimes you get so _annoyed _by me when I'm around. It's truly painful to be close to someone so stoic, and yet you're my best friend."

_She considered him her best friend? Really? What about Aerith? _And those final words gave Leon the boost of confidence that he needed.

"I admire you, Yuffie. I really do. I always have...even _before_. And the majority of the time you don't annoy me at all. I love having you around, and I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Aww..." Yuffie blushed suddenly, incapable of hiding it even slightly. She didn't know he thought so warmly of her.

Leon got up suddenly from his seat, and began to pace slowly.

"Are you okay? Is there something else?" Yuffie questioned shrewdly.

He nodded, stopping and looking at her. "It goes..._further_, than that. But...I never intended on saying so."

Yuffie almost smiled at his awkwardness, which was utterly adorable, but politely abstained from doing so. _Besides, thinking he was adorable was totally out of the question. _

"Seeing you hurt yesterday- what I mean to say- well, Aerith convinced me, but..." It was happening again, he couldn't grasp these words. He clenched his jaw and glared at the ground.

Yuffie arose from the bed, and trotted over to his side. She proceeded to grab his hand with her own. (Normally she wouldn't dare to touch him, but this was an exception.)

He shuddered faintly from the touch, but it was a good sort of shudder. And now he was staring directly into her eyes. They were so close.

"I'm not very good at this," he whispered, but continued, "I love you so passionately, so intensely, Yuffie Kisaragi."

Yuffie's mouth dropped, and her face became pale. All breath seemed to leave her at that instant when the words entered her ear. _'I can't have heard right. Squall doesn't think of me like that...but he just said...'_

The silence and her shock brought Leon back to a horrible, churning reality, in which sentimentality and emotions were void. "I know I don't deserve you...I just had to let you know, in case anything were to happen to either of us before I got the chance."

Her mouth was in the widest "O" shape that he had ever seen, and the only noise she had made was a gasp. Clearly she was appalled, or at least Leon thought so.

But then she murmured softly. "Why would you think that?"

He turned, he couldn't stand that reaction anymore. "You're so young, fresh, beautiful...and full of life. And I'm...well, look at me...I'm scarred, physically and metaphorically."

"But...Leon," and suddenly Yuffie's heart was soaring, and her eyes were glazed, and her wildest dreams had come true, "You're full of life too!" she exclaimed a bit louder than she intended, kissing his cheek in a rush of crazy, nonsensical feelings.

"Wha-?" Leon couldn't believe this. He felt dazed and perhaps _happy? _Because now she knew..._and she had just kissed him._

This was the start of something spectacular.

Yuffie was giggling, and she grabbed his hand again so that they were running, right out of the house and through the Borough. Townsfolk turned to look at the double-blur, but Leon and Yuffie felt like the only two people in the world...no, in the _universe._

They finally halted at the Marketplace, right where Scrooge was standing near his ice cream shop, startling the duck considerably.

"Two Sea-Salt Ice Creams, please!" Yuffie said, holding her fingers up in a sort of peace-sign.

"But the recipe isn't perfected yet...that flavor is still in development. May I interest you in some-"

But Yuffie shook her head. "We're feeling daring today." She looked up to Leon.

The duck made a sort of 'whatever' expression, and handed over two sticks of ice cream in exchange for 100 munny.

Leon and Yuffie, hands connected and now each holding a treat, walked down to the lower level of the area and sat side-by-side on the steps.

"Ready to try it?" Yuffie asked to a semi-amused Leon, who still hadn't seemed to catch his breath.

"Yeah...now!"

And they each took a small bite of their ice creams, Yuffie's being a sort of off-white and Leon's a shocking blue.

"Eww!" Yuffie stuck out her tongue after force-swallowing the thing.

"That's no good," he agreed.

"It's too salty!" Yuffie exclaimed.

"It's too sweet," Leon said at the exact same time.

They looked at each other for about a half second, and then offered each other the opposite ice cream, which they both ate from the other's grasp. They held bare popsicle sticks in about five minutes time.

"You know what I love about you, Leon?" She smirked and rested her semi-sticky chin on his shoulder.

"What is that?"

"You may put on an outwardly rugged appearance, but you're actually quite _cute_."

"Cute?"

"_Very _cute."

_()----------flashback----------()_

"Yuffie, it's pink."

Yuffie had recently arrived at Myde's house to present her hard work. They both stood in the entryway.

"It's going to give us the edge we need, I promise! Besides, the judges are looking for something original...creative, and we've got it."

"Yeah, but it's _pink_."

"You said you trusted me to design our outfits."

"It's..._pink_." Myde paused. "Who are you and what've you done with Yuffie Kisaragi, my ninja girl?"

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, now that we've established the color, you've written the new song, right?"

"Mhmm...I finished it last night." His eyes fell upon another feature of the costume. "Umm...what're the roller blades for?"

"Another edge of course! Rather than dancing we'll be _gliding_ as if in the air, you know." She smiled as if very confident. "Now go try it on, I want to make sure it fits well."

"Fine, but I'm not wearing this alone. I want to see your's on, too."

"All right, fair enough."

He took the top bundle of clothes from her arms and walked off towards his bedroom. Yuffie followed, but turned into the bathroom.

About a minute later they both re-entered the hallway.

The outfits were relatively the same, consisting of a pink beanie hat complete with a flowing ribbon in the back, baggy pink pants, and a form fitting flesh colored shirt. However, whereas Myde's was a quite masculine-like shirt, Yuffie's consisted of much less tight material, covering her only in strategic places.

"Awww! It's even more adorable than I imagined!"

Yuffie walked around Myde a couple times, getting the full view. A couple times she touched him here and there, nodding and muttering her own approval.

Myde was oddly comfortable. "I feel...feminine. Edge?"

"Edge. Now let's go practice the song!"

---------------------------------

One week later, Yuffie and Myde competed in a talent contest for two front-row seat tickets to the sold-out "Rockfest in the Garden" show, featuring all of the most famous rock bands from all across Radiant Garden.

They performed their perfected routine, consisting of original dance moves, music, and costumes without a flaw, gliding and singing their hearts out.

The judges were a simple panel of three who had already scored tickets of their own. The leader among them was Squall Leonhart.

Yuffie and Myde won the tickets hands-down.

**o---------------------o**

**A/N: **Yay for LeonxYuffie fluff and ice cream! (They are perhaps one of my favorite couples to be made fluffy.) I had to add something sweet after all that drama.

Thanks for the reviews so far! They may not be many in number, but they really have meant sooo much to me. Yay.

[I actually love my Senior year so far. It consists of fantastic electives including forensics and media literacy, as well as band, bioethics, english, and a study (during which I shall brainstorm ideas for more fanfiction). Calculus is blah, but it's my only class I don't really like, so I can deal.

And coming home after a day of school to an inbox containing Review alerts is always a plus, too.


	6. Tell Me

_If you could be my punk rock princess,_

_I would be your garage band king._

_You could tell me why you just don't fit in,_

_And how you're gonna be something._

Two weeks and three days had passed since Leon had admitted his feelings to Yuffie, though the concept that they were in a _romantic relationship_ was still hard to grasp for everyone involved. It seemed to be such an unlikely thing, yet it soon raised spirits all over the town to see some true happiness amidst all the darkness.

Leon and Yuffie were hardly seen apart. Then again, that was nothing new. In retrospect, their relationship consisted of everything that their friendship had included. They would dine together, train together, protect the town from swarms of heartless together, and travel together.

Perhaps the only difference, which was such a huge change that it easily shrouded any aforementioned similarities, was the change in Leon's personality when he was with her. He wasn't afraid to show emotions, although he was an amateur at doing so, and often he would embrace the girl, whispering sweet nothings in her ear until she was sure he was a completely changed man.

About a week into the relationship, Yuffie had succeeded in making Leon smile. It was not his usual smirk, hidden behind a veil of old misery, but a real, honest-to-goodness grin of utter delight.

His carefree Squall side, the one that somehow survived over the years, returned now and again. Leon, the man he had become only when he was sure there was no good in the universe, became a lessened form with every passing second he spent with his ninja girl. _His ninja girl._

But every night when they had kissed each other farewell and Leon had returned home, Yuffie snuck off to Demyx at the lake.

Demyx had become a friend and an outlet for all of Yuffie's bottled up woe over her lost love. His presence allowed her to concentrate on Leon more fully, in an odd sort of way.

He didn't speak much about himself, but seemed entertained by Yuffie's nonstop stories about his Somebody. Now and again he would comment, along with a smile or laugh, or ask questions to clarify some cloudy memories that he had. In turn, to be able to speak of Myde so openly felt like a constant weight lifting off Yuffie.

And she was careful, strategically being sure not to ask him about his bizarre appearance in Hollow Bastion, for she had suspicions that he belonged to the group known as Organization XIII, but she could not bring herself to face the truth. That would be too much to bare. Besides, she was carefully smart, and he seemed to be no threat.

Yuffie stood true to her word and did not fall in love with Demyx. She came to quickly realize that, appearance aside, he was not at all her Myde and held only a negligible piece of the personality that she had so desired as a teenager.

------------------------------

A twig snapped and Demyx, taken off guard, whirled around on the rock.

And as he did three figures appeared around him.

"Oh Dem, you remembered!" Yuffie said happily as she ran forward into the clearing.

The beings that he had summoned (nobodies; though Yuffie didn't know it), that each wore a familiar pink outfit, were gliding towards her.

"Yuffie, don't get too close!" Demyx exclaimed, but too late. As soon as the front nobody had reached Yuffie, it seized her wrist and skillfully pulled her off her feet so that she flew through the air left and right, before it finally released her and she went flying.

She yelped, but landed well on her feet.

With a flick of his fingers, Demyx sent them all away. He approached a heavily breathing and dizzy Yuffie who had landed a few feet from the rock.

"What was that?"

"One of my Dancers...sorry about that, I heard a noise," he responded semi-embarassedly, gesturing towards the trees.

"So you haven't realized by now that I visit you at this same time _every night_?" she grumbled, and collapsed next to the rock, so that her back and head were against it.

Demyx didn't respond, but sat back on the boulder, legs dangling close to the girl's location.

"Dancers, you said? Not very friendly, are they?"

"Well, that's what I call them. They're my lesser nobodies, who fight on my command."

"Your mindless zombie army? Interesting...but even more strange is what they were wearing."

"Hey! I'll have you know, my nobodies are among the strongest in the-!" he snapped defensively.

"Oh, that's not what I meant at all," she interjected before he could say something he would regret.

"What do you mean? Wait, do you know why my nobodies wear pink!?" Demyx exclaimed excitedly in a Christmas-has-come-early voice as he figured out what she was getting at. Pulling his legs onto the rock, he changed positon so that he rested on his stomach, and he leaned forward just enough as to look down closely at Yuffie.

Yuffie tilted her neck back so that she looked up towards the sky, or in this case, to Demyx's fervent expression.

She smirked with the knowledge that she knew something that he desperately wanted to know, shrugging sarcastically. "Yeah, I might know something..."

"Tell me, tell me! I always thought maybe my Somebody had a horrible taste in male-fashion...I mean, _pink?_"

A moment of silence fell as Yuffie saw Myde staring through Demyx's eyes at her. Once in awhile such a thing would happen; Demyx would do or say something so reminiscent of the other boy that she had to pause and remind herself that they were not the same.

"Excuse me, pink is a perfectly fine color for men to wear! Hmph...Well, alright, if you really must know, I designed the outfits they were wearing, not Myde..." And she continued on to tell him all about the contest that she and Myde had participated in.

"Hmm. That's _fantastic_," Demyx muttered once she had finished.

Yuffie looked down again, and a few minutes of quiet nature-sounds ensued. It was calming, and as she began to rest her eyes she day dreamed that it was not Demyx with her, but Myde, here at their lake.

"Yuffie?"

"Yeah?" She snapped back to reality.

"All day I've been thinking of whether or not I should ask you...because I need to know, but I don't want to make you sad. You've been so strong, telling me about him, and here I am, not even caring how hard it must be for you, since you have a heart and all..." he explained, clearly having planned the entire speech earlier.

It didn't really sound like he _meant _what he said, but there was effort in his words.

He was uneasy, and Yuffie could only conclude one thing from that.

"You want to know how he died."

"Yeah."

"Of course I'll tell you, Demyx, you have the right to know. To be quite honest, I've tried so hard not to think about that night since it happened, but I remember...oh, I remember," she sighed.

Demyx was quiet, looking not to Yuffie but over the lake.

"How to start so that you understand? Oh, I know...it began with the event we looked forward to more than anything else."

"Rockfest in the Garden?" Demyx recalled.

"_Mhmm_..."

_()----------flashback----------()_

"Rockfestrockfestrockfestrockfest!!!" Yuffie jumped up and down excitedly in front of Myde.

"Calm down, ninja girl," he laughed at her child-like behavior, "We don't want it to go by too quickly anyway, savor every moment."

"But we're not even there yet! Where is Squall anyway? He was supposed to be here six minutes ago!" She checked the studded black watch she was wearing. "Seven minutes, actually! Why do we have to wait for him?"

"Calm down, love," Myde repeated, "the concert doesn't begin for another hour anyway. And we said we'd walk down with him."

Indeed, even Myde had not disagreed with doing such a thing, as Squall was known to be a very strong fighter, and if the need for some defense arose...well, he wanted Yuffie to be as safe as possible.

"I only said that to get him to shut up..." Yuffie whimpered, pouting briefly. But then her face lit up. "There they are!"

Squall, accompanied by a group of fellow teenagers, was walking towards Yuffie and Myde (who stood outside of Yuffie's home on the edge of town.)

"Hey, Yuffie," Squall greeted the girl.

"Let's go!" Yuffie grabbed Myde's hand and forced him into a quick walk, trailed by Squall and his friends.

The concert was to be held in the Great Maw. It was an annual event, attended by all - literally, _all_- Radiant Garden young adults from ages 16 through 25 (give or take a few years). Those unfortunate many who were unable to score tickets claimed seats instead on the steep rock slopes that the Great Maw was famous for.

Attending your first Rockfest was an unofficial coming-of-age ceremony, and this was Yuffie's first.

_It was also her last, but she didn't know it yet._

Reaching the Great Maw took about twenty minutes, as one had to proceed around the castle and through the Ravine Trail.

But in Yuffie's case, of a hurried walk and semi-inconsiderately pushing other teenagers out of the way, it took more like five minutes. Squall kept up.

Jealous eyes watched as the group continued past hundreds of rows of metal folding chairs to the very front row; the epitome of V.I.P. The gargantuan stage was set up facing outwards, blocking the way to the Dark Depths.

"Oh my gosh!" Yuffie gasped at the proximity to the stage.

"Only the best," Squall replied, touching her arm lightly and very briefly.

She pulled Myde into the seat to her right, while Squall took the one to her left. But she continued to jerk her head in every which direction as if she could so easily miss something of extreme importance.

"Myde, this is great!" Yuffie exclaimed, hand clasped on the boy's.

"Isn't it?" He smirked knowingly, he had done this all for her. It was his idea to try for the tickets to ensure a perfect night...

_"The best night of our lives..." _she murmured, and felt a gentle, familiar warmth tingle to the very tips of her fingers as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

They kissed. She swooned. And Myde reached into his pocket to reveal a little, purple velvet box; a familiar shaped box to most girls. Yuffie took it from him and opened it slowly, she gasped.

"Do you like it? I thought it would look nice because of your eyes. Of course if you don't we could exchange it for something you'd like better..." but his words were unnecessary, as he came to see.

"Ooooh," she whispered happily. Inside the case sat a white-gold ring, sparkling with three dark amethyst stones and two impressive diamonds. Taking it out, she slid it onto her left ring finger and held it up, so that the sun caused the entire piece to glitter magnificently. "I love it," she said finally, kissing his cheek.

_"Happy second anniversary, my love."_

----------------------------------------------

They were among the first to arrive but after they had the seats and rock slopes began to rapidly fill with teenagers. Everything was going by so quickly, _just as Myde had warned_.

And as soon as the sun had set and the only thing in the Great Maw that was illuminated was the stage, the first performing band walked out amidst the earsplitting roar of the crowd. The folding chairs lay forgotten and collapsed. All of the adolescents of Radiant Garden became one great, rebelling force, headbanging and proud.

The music soothed them, as hard rock and metal it may have been. The roar lessened with each note on the guitar and with every single beat of the drum. By the time the singing had begun each pair of eyes that made up the crowd were on the stage and all lips mouthed the lyrics that they knew by heart.

Being a part of this was hard to describe as Yuffie, resting her arms on the metal security bar that kept her from leaping onto the stage to join the rockers, lost all senses except those to hear and see. She lost all memories and emotions as something strange happened within her, because at that moment she was the only one, it was her and the musicians that lit up her violet eyes.

_The congregation of rocking youth was ultimately vulnerable, but who would dare try to harm them at such a time?_

**o-----------------------o**

A/N: Yes, so this update took a little longer than usual. Unfortunately I hit a bit of a snag with the flashback not working very well, so for a few days I was caught there. I think it's alright now...decent anyway.

Please review.


	7. Your First Real Heartache

**Disclaimer: **The lyrics in the second half of this chapter are from the song "Death of Seasons" by A.F.I. (Also, I would suggest reading the lyrics, rather than simply skipping over them as you might otherwise choose to do. They work extremely well.)

**o-----------------o**

_If I could be your first real heartache,_

_I would do it over again._

_If you could be my punk rock princess,_

_I would be your heroine._

Leon and Yuffie were traveling through space in the special new Gummi Ship that Cid had lent them, Destination: Hollow Bastion.

They had competed in the Underdrome: Pain and Panic Cup Tournament. As usual, Sora, Donald, and Goofy had won, leaving Yuffie and Leon with a mediocre second place. Sometimes they wondered if the games were fixed, and other times they mildly suggested just giving up. Certainly it had been awhile since they had come in first; before that boy had shown up.

But thoughts like that never lasted long. In actuality they lived for those few hours in which they escaped their drab lives and released all instincts of pure violence on innumerable heartless and other such opponents. While at home their minds were on training: staying in sharp shape for the next tournament.

It was likely that as soon as they reached their world they would go to drilling once more.

Yuffie had sat by quietly, nodding and pretending to agree as Leon threw a minor tantrum after they had lost, swinging his gunblade randomly this way and that, during which time he nearly decapitated Panic, who, along with Pain chased the two 'sore losers' out of the Underworld and back onto their ship.

Leon remained in the captain's seat though the plane was on autopilot. Yuffie, enjoying the ride for the first time in her life, lay so that her legs dangled off of the co-pilot seat, and her head rested on Leon's knees. (It was much more comfortable than it sounds.)

"Don't worry about it Leon, there's always next time," she soothed, reading his somber expression. "Next time we'll get them for sure."

"Yeah, I guess...I mean, that kid doesn't even have any real strategy. He swings that Keyblade so mindlessly. Now, if that were me..." he began.

She raised her eyebrows.

"You would be an indestructible, terrificly strong wielder, and would probably give in to the darkness because of it. You would make everyone bow to you, our all-powerful leader. I can see it now: 'Lord Leon', or perhaps even 'King Leon'."

And then Yuffie laughed at the ridiculousness of it all, shaking her head back and forth as tears of amusement streamed down the sides of her face.

"Hmph."

He crossed his arms and glared out the window to see jets of light breaking through the constant darkness of the universe.

A random thought struck Yuffie suddenly. It was not a rare occurrence.

"Leon, why was everything 'radiant' back then?"

He didn't catch on.

"Whatd'ya mean?"

She shrugged and nearly toppled over in the process. Leon caught her, holding her still in his arms.

"I remember a bunch of things about how Hollow Bastion used to be...and everything seemed to refer to radiance. You know...Radiant Lake," she explained after being steadied.

Leon didn't like to think about the past, as it always seemed to halt any progress he was making in becoming optimistic about the future, but this topic was harmless enough.

"Oh. There was a song once...wasn't there? It was really good. I don't remember who it was by, but there was a line in it: '_She's my girl more radiant than the garden'_."

"_Her eyes sparkle with such life/ and together we rest floating forever/ in the unknowable sunset, hand in hand, arm in arm, eye in eye./ Stay here with me in our golden ecstasy, _"she whispered, barely audible.

"That's right. You know it?"

"Mmm. It was..._is_...about me."

"You mean...?"

"_He_ wrote it for _me_."

Yuffie's voice cracked, and he stroked her hair.

"You still love him?" he questioned, a bit tactlessly.

Her eyes darted into his for a brief second before falling upon the ceiling of the ship. Her heart suddenly weighed a ton, what an odd sensation!

"I was _sixteen_..."

"You didn't answer the question..."

"Part of me will always love his memory, Squall...of course. He was my first love," she paused and smiled feebly, "But it was long ago, and I've moved on, haven't I?"

It may have been what he wanted to hear but it was also the truth. She raised a hand and touched his face above. He grinned sheepishly down at her.

They stared into each other's eyes for several minutes.

But another thought popped into Yuffie's mind, and she, as usual, chose to vocalize it.

"Do you remember Rockfest in the Garden?"

Leon frowned and his brow furrowed.

"How I could I forget it, Yuffie? As much as I try, it's there..._that_ _haunting memory_," his hands shuddered. "It was a _massacre_...and I couldn't even stop it."

"How could you have!? We were completely helpless. We did what we could. Don't blame yourself, Squall!"

"Leon," he muttered. "And what about you?"

Yuffie sat up, back finally getting a bit stiff, and pulled herself properly into her own seat, where she turned to face him. Her mouth was open in surprise.

"What're you talking about?"

"You know well what I mean. Do you blame me for what you lost that night? Sure you may have put it behind you, but think back to your complete silence for our first month in Traverse Town. I want to know the truth," he responded darkly.

_Leon _had returned. Yuffie shook her head automatically.

"No, no! Never-ever! You saved my life, and I appreciated that right away. If I blamed anyone for his death, it was me. I could have gone back...I should have..._I promised him...Myde_..."

Suddenly tears were streaming down her face in great rapids and she found herself in Leon's arms on the floor of the ship.

_()----------flashback----------()_

Two bands had performed already. The third was up. Yuffie had never felt so alive.

The music echoed around the Great Maw. It drowned out any other sounds.

_"Of late, it's harder just to go outside_

_To leave this deadspace with hatred, so alive._

_Writhing with sickness, thrown into banality, I decay._

_Killed by the weakness, but forced to return, turn it off."_

Thousands of fists in the audience punched the air to the beat. Yuffie jumped up and down, neck arched as to miss nothing happening on the stage. She could see the glistening sweat on the faces of the rock gods. She was one with them, one of them.

Her peripherals were blurred and fuzzy, and she was not alone in this. The rock concert provided a type of artificial high in this sense. The only thing illuminated in the entire area was the stage (the lights on the rock walls had been shut off this one night for this purpose...it just wouldn't be the same with them on), so anything else was nonexistent.

So is it no wonder that they were targeted? How could the ultimate evil stay away from so succulent an attack?

It was an opportunity to take out the entirety of Radiant Garden's youth...really, they should have seen it coming. But by now it was too late for most of them.

_"I watch the stars as they fall from the sky._

_I held a fallen star and it wept for me, dying._

_I feel the fallen stars encircle me now, as they cry."_

The first deaths were silent, and the following few were silenced by the music. The majority of the crowd was still unaware of anything abnormal or wrong.

If someone had been, in fact, paying attention, they may have seen the shadows of people collapsing on the very tips of both peaks against the background of stars...nothing more. The assailants were shadows that disappeared into the ground and thus became invisible until the last moment at which they cut down their oblivious victims.

Even as bodies began to roll down the slopes, the audience believed it was simply a grotesque ploy to add more wonderful gloominess to the atmosphere of the concert. Surely they weren't real corpses! (How terrible that would be!)

This all took place within one minute; one particularly loud song.

_"Out there so quickly grows malignant tribes._

_Posthuman extinction excels unrecognized._

_Feeling surrounded, so bored with mortality, I decay._

_All of this hatred is fucking real, turn it on... yeah."_

It was only when the singing had stopped to make way for a guitar solo that shrieks and cries could be heard off in the distance, to the left and right of Yuffie. She didn't catch on, but Squall did...in fact, he was one of the first to respond. He had attended many Rockfests so not only was he not as 'high' on the concert as others but he also knew nothing was normal about these sounds of _pain _and _terror_.

"Yuffie!"

_Don't pull me out of this ecstasy...Squall._

"Snap out of it, Yuffie!" He shook her by her shoulders. She desperately clawed to any hopes of staying unconscious to the events around her.

"Yuffie, listen to him! Something's happening!" A worried voice...a different voice. This was the one to bring her out of the temporary prison entrapping her mind.

Her head shot to the right. "Myde, what...?"

"They're here, Yuffie...we're surrounded!" Squall interrupted from behind her.

A gasp and a sudden realization. She spun around, this way and that until she saw all she needed to see: people falling in every direction, the spray of innocent blood; and she heard cries..._the cries were the absolute worst part._

_Somehow, she wasn't surprised...she had known it all along._

Her heart began to race but she didn't show fear as her shuriken whirled out.

"So, let's fight!"

Squall had no objections as his gunblade appeared. "We don't know what we're up against..."

"Myde, stay here, it's safe for now," Yuffie said as she turned to him. He nodded and kissed her cheek. "I'll be back for you soon, I promise."

"Be careful, little ninja."

_"I watch the stars as they fall from the sky._

_I held a fallen star and it wept for me, dying._

_I feel the fallen stars encircle me now, as they cry."_

The enemy creatures had already made their way down the slopes, leaving no survivors in their wake. The victims were those unfortunate many who had not come across proper seating tickets. If Yuffie and Myde had not won the contest...

"Yuffie, this way!"

Yuffie was having trouble keeping up with Squall, who led towards the edges of the Great Maw where the majority of the black monsters now collected. It was complete madness. Teenagers were screaming and running with no order. Everyone now knew: there was no escape. The result was absolute panic and desperation.

A large boy cut in front of Yuffie as she ran at maximum speed. She was forced to swerve sideways and her legs became entangled in those of a folding chair.

"Ow!" Her right ankle twisted as she smashed painfully to the hard, stone ground.

Peering upwards, she no longer could see any sign of Squall or his glowing gunblade; he hadn't noticed her sudden fall. She tried to stand but was immediately knocked down by a stampede jumping over her. A sneakered foot collided with her neck, forcing her jaw to strike the metal chair with great force.

Her teeth clenched. Her eyes snapped shut. A sudden gush of metallic-tasting blood filled her mouth and streamed past her lips. She began to quiver and teeter on the edge of consciousness.

_This is the end...I can't get up._

_Yuffie, you have to get out of here. Open your eyes...those things are coming. _

She let out of chuckle muffled by blood. _How silly to think I'd get away when no one else is...I think I'll just stay here._

_Squall's gone...I wonder if they've got him yet. There are too many of them._

_I wonder what death will feel like...how curious, I'm only sixteen. _

"Yuffie, there you are!"

Strong hands suddenly grabbed her, untangling her limbs from the chair, cradling her like some sort of baby doll.

"Open your eyes! Please, please, wake up!"

It took so much will for Yuffie to open her eyes, to face the events and not just give in to her pain. Because as soon as she did, she screamed and would have preferred to be dead herself.

Squall was the one who saved her; his face, arms, everything, were soaked with blood that could not possibly be all his own. But relief proceeded to flood his face when Yuffie showed signs of life.

"Let me down!" Yuffie shouted, shocking him. She fought so hard that he had no choice to place her on her feet.

Yuffie wasn't extremely hurt, but had to balance her weight on her left leg, and shake her head twice to clear her fuzzy sight.

_"It won't be alright despite what they say._

_Just watch the stars tonight as they, as they disappear, disintegrate._

_And I disintegrate 'cause this hate is fucking real._

_And I hope to shade the world as stars go out and I disintegrate."_

The band continued to play, going down with the ship, (so to speak). So few people were alive, those few who were pressed their bodies hopelessly against the stage, waiting helplessly as the shadows moved closer to their final targets.

Squall and Yuffie stood amidst a wasteland of corpses, chairs, and red puddles. Their attackers had already passed over where they stood.

They were alive for two simple reasons: the creatures took Yuffie's limp body for dead, and in all of his strength Squall was too difficult a target to bother with. So they had been passed over._ Were they lucky?_

"Myde!" Yuffie gasped, turning and running towards the front row where he had been.

"Yuffie, stop!" Squall ran after her.

Even in this darkness, Yuffie could see him, exactly where she had told him to stay, about 100 feet away. She closed in that distance...but the shadows were in front of her. The wave of heartless, as she would come to call them, was devouring the stage and hiding her love in a great black cloud.

But Yuffie continued to run, refusing to accept the inevitable._ (Myde was, of course, beyond help.) _

All of a sudden she realized her legs were bringing her nowhere. Her pained ankle had given way, and her knees skinned as her body fell, again, to the ground. Squall finally caught up and threw arms around her in case she tried again to run.

"Let me go! I can save him! I can get to him!" she shrieked, clawing at his arms in vain.

"Yuffie...calm down," he whispered, rocking her as if a little child who had just awoken from a nightmare.

But there was no awakening from this.

Hadn't there just been a stage there? At least a hundred people near it? The view in front of Yuffie and Squall was barren. There was not a single sign of life in the entire Great Maw.

Yuffie finally fell still against her savior, violet eyes wide with misery. Squall breathed heavy and fast, hunched over her protectively. _The only one he managed to save..._

A great whirring sound came in a loud crescendo. Both shivering survivors glanced upwards to see a large ship landing right before them. The doors opened, a sudden blast of light illuminating a path towards an unexpected salvation.

"Get in, kids! The town is evacuating, we need to get out of here," a gruff, but sympathetic voice called from the inside of the ship.

Squall stood, continuing to hold Yuffie as he did, and walked forward into the ship.

"Y-you're the only ones here?" a shaky, feminine voice questioned.

"Yes," Squall replied as calmly as he could.

The doors closed behind them.

"Noooo!" Yuffie wailed suddenly. **"They're all dead!"**

The ship rose and she fell silent, choked with utter despair.

_(It won't be alright..._

_Despite what they say._

_Just watch the sky_

_As stars go out...)_

**o--------------------o**

**A/N: **Aw...that was pretty sad. And yes, I am aware of my hiatus of a couple months. I'm a senior in high school, which meant applying to college...but I'm pretty much all set now, so I should be able to continue with updates at a decent rate.

Please review!


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